


A Dragon Master's Reputation

by Seclina_Lunica



Series: Poké Past, Present & Future Chronicles [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Lance doesn't want people laughing at him, Romantic Comedy, more angst than comedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-07
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24049612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Seclina_Lunica/pseuds/Seclina_Lunica
Summary: Lance visits Cynthia in Celestic Town with a problem that could ruin his reputation as a Champion Dragon Master.
Relationships: Shirona | Cynthia/Wataru | Lance
Series: Poké Past, Present & Future Chronicles [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1730098
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character designs:  
> Lance: Generations  
> Cynthia: Generations

Cynthia was watching carefully through her living room window. She was a tad worried. Two weeks ago, she returned from another trip where she had been researching for two months in Hoenn, and after temporarily settling down in Celestic Town for family reasons, she notified Lance of her return right away via text message. He was always worried for her when she went researching, so it was only fair that she’d do the same when he was gone for G-men enquiries. An hour after the initial text message at the time, Lance responded by saying he was on another G-man mission and wouldn’t be back for a full week. That week was over now.

She texted him several times today to see if he was still alive. Despite Lance’s complaints about the G-men, it was still a dangerous job. You were always undercover, infiltrating team bases, gathering information and maybe completing a whole mission on your own. Unfortunately, the bad guy’s motivations were becoming more frightening, meaning that the job was more dangerous than its ever been before. On top of that, not everyone used Pokémon to get rid of a person.

**Cynthia: Are you okay? Are you Alive?**

She waited ten minutes. Still, there was no response. Something was wrong.

She then decided to text Clair.

**Cynthia: Hey.**

**Clair: Hey, what’s up? How was your researching trip in Hoenn?**

**Cynthia: It was fine. Do you know if Lance returned?**

**Clair: Yes, he got back two days ago.**

And he didn’t tell her as soon as he got home? That jerk! Clair texted again.

**Clair: He left for Sinnoh as soon as he got back and was going to notify you after he stopped for Lunch.**

**Clair: Isn’t he in Celestic Town with you? It takes less than a day to get there with his Dragonite.**

**Cynthia: No, that’s why I texted you in the first place. I asked you where he was.**

**Clair: Let me try calling him.**

A few minutes later…

**Clair: The line is dead. He’s not answering me.**

Something was definitely wrong now. Did he run into trouble along the way?

**Cynthia: Let me try calling him this time.**

After dialing Lance’s number, Cynthia placed the phone against her ear. She immediately received three _BEEPS_ meaning that the line on the other end was dead.

She then heard a noise outside. Again, she glanced through the window, but instead of observing nothing, she saw Lance and his Dragonite land just outside of her grandparent’s house. She texted Clair.

**Cynthia: He just arrived.**

Instead of waiting for a response, Cynthia ran to the door and opened it. She hurried over to Lance, who was just recalling Dragonite to its Pokéball. She was going to murder that clown.

With a suitcase in hand, Lance turned around and came face to face with Sinnoh’s Champion. She yelled, “Lance, you asshole! You were supposed to text or call me when you got back from your mission. You were also supposed to tell me when you left Blackthorn City. Why do you always do this to me?” She then stopped when she examined him from head to toe.

As per usual, he was stoic and elegant in his Johto attire and cape; however, he looked a little worse for wear. There were bags under his eyes, he was pale, and his cheeks were rosy. His clothes were covered in what looked like mud, and his already wild red hair was more dishevelled than usual. He was exhausted, and almost looked depressed. Like Clair said, it was less than a one day’s journey from Blackthorn City to Celestic Town on a Dragonite, so what happened along the way? She started:

“Lance, you look like a mess. What happened? Are you okay?”

Lance’s exhausted expression did not falter; however, it didn’t stop him from rubbing the back of his neck and uncomfortably chuckling. How was he going to explain this to her?

* * *

Cynthia had grabbed Lance’s suitcase, and led him into her grandparent’s house. It was a relatively big house, and several renovations had taken place in the last year; of course, Cynthia had the money to pay for these renovations. She owned her own mansion in the Sinnoh region, but it was currently vacant because she was back in her home town, helping her sick grandmother. When Lance wasn’t busy with the G-men, he would drop by with some herbs and medicines from Blackthorn City that would help ease the elderly woman’s pain.

They then entered the kitchen. Cynthia’s younger sister immediately greeted their guest. “Hey, Lance.”

He just acknowledged her with a nod, which was odd, for he always ruffled her hair. She noticed that he looked exhausted too. Was the journey that tiring?

Lance didn’t bother taking a seat. He knew what Cynthia was going to say the moment she brought out a kettle, and began putting cold water in it. She said as she grabbed a bag of green tea. “Lance, go take a shower and get changed. There are fresh towels in the guest bedroom. Throw your clothes – including your cape – outside of the bathroom door. I’ll pick them up later and throw them in the laundry.

Lance agreed with her; he needed a wash. He always kept his clothes clean and maintained proper hygiene, so it was uncomfortable being dirty. Not saying a word, Lance turned around and went upstairs with his suitcase to go freshen up.

When Lance disappeared from sight, Cynthia focused her attention back onto the tea kettle. Her little sister said with a worried look in her eyes. “Is Lance okay? He’s usually talkative around me, and always ruffles my hair even though I hate it. He didn’t say boo to me once! He didn’t even try.”

Cynthia responded, “I don’t know what’s going on. He told me before he came inside that he will tell me once he’s settled. Whatever that means. The only hint he gave me was that he said the situation was embarrassing.” Cynthia picked up her phone again. She texted Clair.

**Cynthia: Hey Clair, I have a question.**

“Hmm…” Cynthia’s sister pondered with a finger on her chin, “I wonder what could possibly make him embarrassed? Maybe it has to do with his pen…”

Cynthia instantly went red, and then stopped her sister there, “Shut up!”

Upon observing her sister’s reaction, the other member of the family said with a small pout, “Are you guys dating, because both of you are giving me mixed signals?”

**Clair: What’s up? Is Lance annoying you already?**

**Cynthia: Was he okay when he left Blackthorn?**

**Clair: Yes, why?**

**Cynthia: He came here dirty and looks really sad. I was just wondering.**

**Clair: Oh, well, he was clean and okay when he left…do you want me to call him?**

**Cynthia: No, I’ll get everything out of him eventually.**

**Clair: If you need anything else let me know.**

“Hey, are you even listening to me?”

Cynthia turned around, “Sorry, what did you say?”

Her little sister explained, “Your relationship with Lance is confusing. You’re dating, but you’re not – what? He obviously likes you. He gives you flowers – even if they’re from someone else’s garden, acts and talks like he’s known you for fifty years, and when you’re emotional over the weirdest things, he drops everything to see if you’re okay; for example, when your first Milotic passed away from sickness and you told him, he travelled all the way from Kanto to here in less than ten minutes to make sure you had a shoulder to cry on – hey, I timed him. He’s also easy on the eyes, so you're lucky there. Do you know how many ugly Pokémon trainers there are out in the world?”

Cynthia nodded. Her sister was right about Lance, especially the easy on the eyes part.

Her sister continued, “Also, you never stop talking about him, and you visit him at Blackthorn Estate once a week now instead of once a month; so, what’s stopping you two from making your relationship official?”

Cynthia thought carefully for a moment before saying, “Most of it has to do with…the publicity. I guess you could say we’re half dating; in secrecy. We are affectionate, but only in private. We don’t hold hands or peck each other’s cheeks in public, because we don’t want exposure. Also, it’s political. We don’t want the Commissioner and other Champions to think that we’re doing it as either a publicity stunt or for making allies. They’re really not wrong in the latter, but what they won’t understand is that we really do have strong feelings for each other. Trust me – I hate this as much as he does.”

Cynthia’s sister knew there was more, so she waited.

Cynthia continued, “I don’t know…it’s just…complicated. Anyways, due to the influx of Pokémon trafficking, Lance is doing more G-man stuff than competitions now, so I guess it’s not so bad. He doesn’t have to be bombarded by the other Champions in which he despises most of them.” Cynthia grabbed a mug and poured herself some hot water. She dropped the tea bag in, and took a large sip. She then heard:

“What’s up, hot stuff?”

After hearing that, Cynthia turned around to see a sopping wet Lance leaning against the doorframe wearing nothing, but a towel around his waist; his hair was soaked too. She choked on her tea, and it embarrassingly came out of her nostrils and onto the floor. She cleaned everything up before shouting, “LANCE, what the hell are you doing? Put some clothes on, will you?”

“It doesn’t matter,” he responded.

Cynthia was taken aback. “What do you mean it doesn’t matter? My little sister is here – not to mention that you’re getting the floor all wet!”

Lance quickly approached Cynthia, and grasped her hands. She noticed that his eyes were dreamlike and he bore a heavy blush. He said softly, “All that matters right now is you.” He played with her hair. “You’re…so beautiful this afternoon. I can’t wait…”

Cynthia smacked his hand away. What was going on? The man in front of her wasn’t the Lance she knew. Although he was sometimes rough around the edges, he was kind, and cared for people and Pokémon whether he liked them or not. He was also respectful and decent, especially in other people’s homes. He wasn’t some love-stricken pervert! He was also speaking to her as if he were a prince who just met his princess for the first time and was about to get married after their first interaction. He doesn’t even speak to her like that in the bedroom, because he insists on playing the bad boy.

Cynthia pushed him away so hard that he almost fell backwards. “Get off of me,” she yelled.

Lance was taken aback. With his cheeks still rosy, and the soft gleam in his eyes, he said, “I-I’m sorry if I offended you. You…just look so beautiful and I can’t help, but want to touch you.”

She needed to get him out of here before her grandparents would come home and see this or something. She said with upmost authority, “Lance, go back and finish your shower, and don’t come back here until you’re fully clothed.”

He did as he was told. Cynthia’s sister then chimed, “Did you see how ripped he was? He must do push-ups in the living room.” She wasn’t wrong about that.

Red and embarrassed, Cynthia looked away and said, “Just…shut up.” She then took a towel and began cleaning the water off the floor.

* * *

Thirty minutes had gone by, and Lance hadn’t returned; she was now worried. She excused herself from the kitchen and went upstairs. She looked in the bathroom first, and saw that it was dark and empty. She then glanced at the opposite end of the hall, and saw that the guest bedroom door was closed. Looking at the space at the bottom of the door, she could see light creeping into the hallway. She knocked on the door five times, before saying, “Lance, are you decent?”

She heard a weak, “Yes.”

“Can I come in?”

“…Yeah.”

Cynthia opened the door and went inside; she then closed the door behind her. She could see that Lance was now dressed in a white T-shirt and shorts, and was sitting on the edge of the bed. His flushed cheeks were now a ghostly white and the bags under his eyes had returned. He looked depressed; so depressed in fact that she hoped he wasn’t thinking of doing something stupid. Seeing this, she suddenly felt bad for pushing him earlier, but he was forcing himself on her in front of her sister, and she had to stop it before things would escalate. He said:

“I’m sorry for what happened in the kitchen. I couldn’t control myself.”

Cynthia responded, “Lance, I’m sorry for pushing and yelling at you in the kitchen. Please, I don’t want you to think that I don’t like you anymore, or that I don’t want you to show affection outside of the bedroom. It’s just…I don’t think that was appropriate, especially in front of my little sister. You know, maybe we could talk about this, and agree on holding hands or something. Please Lance, tell me, is hiding our relationship taking a toll on you?”

Lance didn’t answer.

“Lance, you have to tell me what’s going on? Are you alright?”

Lance said, “This whole thing is so embarrassing.”

“What happened on your journey here? You looked like a mess then and you look like one now. Besides, you never answered my texts and calls, so I can only think of the worst.”

Lance refrained from answering again.

Cynthia sighed. She then said, “Does it have anything to do with the G-men and your last mission?”

Lance said, “Cynthia, can I rest in here for an hour? And then I’ll tell you.”

Cynthia then lightly rubbed his back before saying, “Okay, but just an hour.”

* * *

Lance escaped the house. Celestic Town was fairly small, so there weren’t many places to hide. Using the family’s Rapidash, Cynthia trotted around town, looking through every nook and cranny to find Lance who was probably feeling overwhelmed by his behaviour just now.

He had slept for two hours, and when he came back from the bedroom, he had that blush and dreamy look in his eyes again. Back in the kitchen, and in front of her sister, he held Cynthia’s hands again and called her all sorts of pet names with an overwhelmingly bright smile that Cynthia thought he was incapable of ever making. Then, he started talking about all sorts of things. Their dreams and aspirations, what their futures would look like, how many kids they would have, and what their names should be. He then tried kissing her, but she pushed him away again; and he had that hurt look in his eyes. After approximately two minutes, he lost that blush and went back to being as pale as a ghost, and exhausted beyond belief. Covering his hands with his face, he had run out of the house, looking for a place to hide. Honestly, Cynthia didn’t know what to do about his behaviour. Should she kick him out of the house if he were to continue this? She might have to.

Eventually, she found him curled up behind the Pokémon centre. He looked so depressed and tired. Cynthia instantly regretted thinking about kicking him out, because when she saw people look this low, they usually attempted to hurt themselves later. What the hell was going on? Did he see something? Does he need help? She hopped off of the Rapidash and said, “Lance.”

He jerked, but once he realized that it was Cynthia, he relaxed and said, “I’m sorry.”

Cynthia sat beside him. “Lance, you have to tell me what’s wrong now. You’re always complaining that I hide things from you, but from what I can see now, you’re doing the same.”

No answer.

“Seriously Lance, you have to tell me. If it has to do with hiding our relationship and it’s killing you, you have to let me know.”

Before Cynthia could prod any further, she heard another set of hooves run up to them. It was Cynthia’s sister on a Rapidash of her own. She said, “Cynthia, I think I know what’s going on with Lance! Come on!”

Cynthia turned to Lance. “There’s more than enough room on the saddle. Would you like to ride with me or do you want to walk?”

“Walk, please.”

With their fingers interlocked and the Rapidash behind them, Cynthia and Lance went back towards the house. Lance was hesitant, and tried to stall as much as possible, because he knew what was going on. Before walking into the house, Lance said, “Promise me you won’t laugh.”

“I promise,” Cynthia said before marching into the foyer. Then, they heard her sister call them to the living room. They sauntered over and Cynthia’s breath was immediately taken away when she saw a female Gardevoir floating around in her living room.

Cynthia’s head comically tilted to the side. “Uh – what’s this?”

She looked at Lance. He was red again and looking away from the Pokémon. With his free hand, he tried to cover up his bashfulness.

The Pokémon then noticed Lance in the room with her. She smiled. She went to him and without a fight, wrapped her arms around him and mashed her cheek against his. Cynthia noticed that the more the Gardevoir showed her affection, the stiffer and more uncomfortable Lance got. Then, Cynthia and her sister saw a cloud of pink gas/dust gather around both the Pokémon and Lance.

Realizing what was going on, Cynthia cupped her hands over her mouth and gasped, “Oh my, Arceus!”

Lance then crossed his arms, and waited. There was no point in trying to escape the Pokémon’s tight grasp. He already tried that. With bright red cheeks, he said, “Must you comment?”

Cynthia’s little sister said, “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t tell me you caught a Gardevoir!”

Lance felt feverish while the Gardevoir continued to hug him into oblivion. “No comment,” he responded.

There was a brief pause. Then, Cynthia and her little sister each aimed a finger at the man and laughed hysterically, “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!”

"I thought you said you weren't going to laugh!"

They continued laughing, even when their sides were hurting. Cynthia said, “LANCE, THAT’S HILARIOUS!”

“It’s not funny!”

Cynthia’s little sister commented, “I guess that means we can no longer call you the Dragon Master anymore!"

Cynthia added, "Wait, I have to text Clair about this."

"Don't you dare," Lance exclaimed.

They continued laughing, almost falling over and rolling on the ground. If he weren’t trapped in the arms of this Gardevoir, he would have left long ago. He growled, “If you don’t stop this, I’m going to leave.”

Then, the pink glitter cloud got thicker, and Lance’s blushing worsened. His usual stoic expression turned soft like marshmallows and he gave the Gardevoir an infectious grin. He then hugged her back. Cynthia and her sister eventually stopped laughing, because it hurt too much. Cynthia said as she wiped away a tear, “So, that’s why you've been acting strange. A Gardevoir is to blame."

“Well, what’s wrong with him,” her little sister asked, “I don’t know Pokémon that well, so I’m a little confused.”

Cynthia explained happily, “Gardevoir is a psychic-fairy type Pokémon. This one is female and seems to be infatuated with Lance. Poor guy. When he caught her, he must’ve been lacking in the love department, because it looks like she’s using the move Attract on him, so that he can give her the attention and love she desires. It also seems that when he finally gets away from her, he’s still under the spell and shows love for me too.”

“That’s…interesting. This isn't Lance at all, is it?”

Cynthia continued, “When Attract is used on humans, it raises the human’s dopamine level by a thousand. It’s an amazing feeling, and can make the person act in a way that’s...well...very out of character; however, there is a drawback. When the spell wears off, the human's dopamine level drops considerably. This causes them to go into a depression-like state. Eventually, they'll go back to normal.” She then placed a hand on her chin, and rubbed. Curious, she said, “Hmm…but I wonder why he caught a Gardevoir in the first place?”

The Gardevoir let go of Lance and placed her hands together as she waited for the spell to fully take its effect on the human. Lance's hair was more disheveled than ever before. He said to Gardevoir uncharacteristically cheery, “Gardevoir, you’re such a good girl! You’re the greatest Pokémon ever! Later, we’re going to go into the forest and play hide and go seek, and then we’re going to have a scavenger hunt, and then we’re going to go for a swim in the water. I can’t wait.” He then hugged the Pokémon willingly.

Cynthia and her little sister were ready to stand there and laugh again rather than help him out, but before a word could escape any one of their mouths, Lance turned around and made eye contact with Cynthia. Instantly, he let go of the Gardevoir, went to his woman and grasped her hands. “Please, Cynthia. Please don’t leave me. Please accept my affections! How about this, let’s go out for dinner tonight.”

Right now, Lance was almost as bad as Alder, but she didn’t want to physically push him away this time. Trying to comfort a miserable Dragon Master after several Attracts was challenging and hard to watch. She played along, “Lance, there are no restaurants in town. And if we go the neighboring city, everything will be closed by the time we get there.”

Lance responded with disappointment, “Oh.” The Attract spell then quickly wore off and Cynthia’s heart sunk when she saw him slip back into that unhappiness from before. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what came over me again." The Gardevoir behind him stopped smiling when it lost Lance’s affection.

Cynthia said, “Lance, why did you catch a Gardevoir?” She stopped laughing now. How long has this Gardevoir been using Attract on him? She led him to the kitchen table, so that he could explain his situation somewhere more comfortably. He said in a sad tone of voice:

“It all happened as soon as I left Blackthorn City to come here. My Pokégear fell off my wrist when I was flying with Dragonite, so I went into the forest to retrieve it…”

* * *

_Lance was in the forest for at least an hour, searching for his Pokégear that he dropped while on his Dragonite. He should’ve let it rust in the woods, and continue onwards to Celestic Town, but the piece of technology was rather expensive; and honestly, he’d rather get parts replaced than buy a brand new one. After trudging through the thick mud and bush – where his cape was going to hang him eventually – he finally discovered his Pokégear in a river, wet and broken to bits. He snatched it out of the water, shook it and played with the buttons, hoping that something would happen, but as expected, he’d have to spend money on a new one. He wouldn’t be able to get a hold of Cynthia or his cousin now._

_Just as he was about to turn back to where he originally came from, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and listened. He knew that it was a wild Pokémon, but what was it? He slowly grabbed a Pokéball and readied himself for a potential battle. When he turned around, he expected a Pokémon that could tear him to shreds, but he did not expect a Gardevoir. Well – on the contrary – Gardevoir were just as dangerous, but he was expecting something with massive claws or talons; something like an Ursaring or a Scyther._

_Lance loved Pokémon; whether they were dragons or not, Pokémon were still creatures that needed to be loved and protected. They looked into each other’s eyes. Lance could see that the Pokémon was female, and wasn’t interested in fighting. He then said to make the Gardevoir trust him a little more, “Good morning, love. How are you today?”_

_The Gardevoir must’ve liked what he said, because she delivered him a wide smile. He could then hear the Gardevoir purr and giggle from a distance. He said hesitantly, “Oh – so you liked that, huh? Well, just don’t hurt me, okay? I’m going to go now.”_

_Suddenly, the Gardevoir flew to Lance and tried to hug him, but he pushed her away. She was being a little too friendly. The Gardevoir backed away, and wondered what she had done wrong. She then looked as if she were about to cry, and Lance immediately panicked. He could deal with a sad Dratini, but a Gardevoir was a different story. She was a psychic Pokémon, not to mention a fairy type; and if there’s one thing he learned throughout his Pokémon career, it was that ice and fairy type Pokémon were going to be the death of him._

_He said sort of smiling and waving his hands, “N-no, you did nothing wrong! I-It’s just…well…I’m not…I think you’ve got the wrong idea.” He blushed hard. This wasn’t happening. It was all just a dream._

_Before Lance could send out one of his Pokémon so that he could escape without a scratch, the Gardevoir spun around and a pink mist completely enveloped their surroundings. Lance tensed when he first saw the pink cloud, but in seconds he relaxed. His eyes drooped and the Pokéball he’d been holding slipped out of his hands. “You’re…so…beautiful,” he said in a dreamy tone and stare. Pleased with his reaction, Gardevoir tried to hug him again, and she succeeded._

* * *

_Lance wasn’t sure how long he had been in the forest with the Gardevoir for. It could have been hours, or days, but nonetheless, he was exhausted. The Attract took a lot of energy out of him. The spell of Attract only lasted on humans for about five minutes, but once it wore off, he felt like a complete wreck. Sometimes he wanted to sleep, and sometimes he wanted to die, and he found that the more this happened, the worse the after effects got._

_Lance shot up when the Gardevoir returned. Half an hour ago, he thought that it left for good, but he was wrong. The Gardevoir was holding some berries and she gave all of them to Lance. He took it. After taking a long, hard look at the potential food in his hands, he determined that they were indeed edible for human consumption. He ate a few. He must’ve been here for a while, because he was hungry._

_The Gardevoir smiled as Lance ate the berries. He said, “T-thank you,” in return. Then, she used Attract on him again, and he felt sick to his stomach before falling under the spell once more. Without faltering, Lance grabbed the Gardevoir’s hands and said, “You’re the most beautiful Pokémon I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I’ve told you, but I love you so much and I hope that we can share our lives together as Pokémon and trainer. We’re going to be the best of friends.”_

_The Gardevoir smiled and agreed. She didn’t hesitate to hug him. He looked at her and he could see tears in her eyes. “Don’t cry. I’m here.” He then reached for his belt and grabbed an empty Pokéball. “We’ll be best friends forever.” Then, the Gardevoir tapped her head against the Pokéball and the Pokéball opened. The Gardevoir turned into a white beam of light as it entered the Pokéball and closed, eventually slipping out of Lance’s hand and rolling back and forth at his feet._

_Lance snapped out of the trance, and he felt terrible again. He then looked around. “Huh? What happened? Is that Gardevoir finally gone?” Then, he heard a BEEP at his feet. He looked down and saw a Pokéball in front of him, shaking and blinking four to five times before coming to a stop, indicating that a Pokémon had been successfully caught._

_Lance then grabbed it, and looked at the object a little bit longer with a raised brow. What did he catch? Then, his eyes widened and his stomach dropped when he finally realized what was in that Pokéball. “NO! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I JUST CAUGHT A GARDEVOIR BY ACCIDENT! THIS IS NOT GOOD! THIS IS NOT GOOD! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?! I CAN’T GO BACK TO BLACKTHORN WITH THIS THING! I’LL BE THE LAUGHING STOCK OF THE CENTURY! LANCE THE DRAGON MASTER WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS THE BIGGEST JOKE IN THE POKEMON LEAGUE BECAUSE I HAVE A FAIRY POKEMON NOW! I’VE GOT TO GET RID OF IT! BUT…HOW!”_

* * *

Lance concluded, “And now here I am with a Gardevoir that won’t stay in its Pokéball and follows me everywhere, using Attract whenever it wants my attention. I don’t know what to do. I give her the affection she wants – even when the spell breaks – but she just won’t stop. I don’t know how much longer I can endure this.”

Cynthia said, worried, “How long has she been doing this to you?”

“I figured I was stuck in the forest for at least a day, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was over fifty times.” He sighed, “Any more of this, and I’ll jump off a cliff for sure.”

Cynthia stood there and thought for a moment. She said, “Well, you can do one of three things. One, keep her and train her; two, trade her; and three, find a way to make her uninterested in you without hurting her.”

“That’s nice Cynthia, but number three will be impossible.”

Cynthia’s little sister said, “Awwww, but all she wants is someone to love her. You’re easy on the eyes, so it’s no wonder she flocks to you.”

Before Lance could reply, the pink mist appeared again, and this time, he was able to slip away from the Gardevoir and retreat upstairs before the painful cycle would begin again. The pink mist disappeared. Gardevoir lowered her head and looked like a scolded child. Cynthia said gently to the Pokémon with a smile, “Lance just needs some rest, okay? Can you give that to him? He should calm down by then.” The Gardevoir went to the couch and sat down; it was on the verge of tears. Cynthia sat beside the Gardevoir. There must be something bothering the Pokémon. Was it just lonely?

“Gardevoir?”

“?”

“Are you looking for someone to love?”

Gardevoir looked away, sheepishly.

“Look, Lance might have been friendly to you in the forest, but he was just being nice. He’s nice to all Pokémon, but Lance is a dragon trainer. He won’t be able to give you the affection you want. If you’re looking for love, why don’t you go back into the forest and find a male Gardevoir? You’ll be a lot happier.”

Gardevoir shook her head. Obviously, there was more to the story, but Cynthia would have to dig a little deeper. It seemed like the Gardevoir had no interest in other Pokémon. Was her behaviour related to humans instead?

_Chapter 2 is next…._


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Lance, Cynthia and her younger sister were on the living room couch in front of Gardevoir, who was practically playing a game of charades.

Earlier, when Lance calmed down, and had come to join the club, Cynthia had informed him that Gardevoir was going to try and explain why she was being so affectionate towards him. Cynthia hypothesized that the Gardevoir wasn’t looking for love, but rather needing love.

“But why me of all people,” Lance asked a tad aggressive. He was still salty over the fact that he caught a fairy Pokémon. “Was it just because I was in the area?”

Cynthia shrugged. “I don’t know. To be fair, you were the one being overly friendly towards her in the first place.”

“I was **not** being overly friendly! She’s a female, and all I did was greet her with a pet name that females are fond of.”

Gardevoir was struggling to explain herself. There was so much she needed to explain. Cynthia offered, “You’re a psychic Pokémon. Would you mind showing us a sliver of your past?”

For some reason, the Gardevoir refused.

Lance rolled his eyes. They’ve been at this for twenty minutes already; or at least it felt like twenty minutes. “We are getting nowhere with this.”

Cynthia smacked his arm. “This is your Pokémon. Listen to her.”

“Ow Cynthia,” Lance winced. He rubbed the arm that was now stinging. “Why’re you always so mean to me?”

It was now Cynthia’s turn to roll her eyes. She then looked back at Gardevoir and said with a soft smile, “I’m sorry about that, Gardevoir. Your trainer has no manners. He’s still tired too.”

Lance looked away and pouted, “Hmph.”

“Please continue.”

This time, Gardevoir took a long look around the room. She scratched the side of her face as she played ‘I Spy’ with herself. If she couldn’t explain anything successfully through hand gestures, then visualising her speech with objects would be the next best thing to try. She first pointed at Lance.

Lance placed his finger against his chest. He said with a raised brow, “Me?”

Gardevoir shook her head. She then looked around again, and found a toy Pokéball. Without warning, she threw it at Lance; hitting him in the chest, hard. “Ow, what was that for?! Am I going to have something thrown at me every time I guess wrong?”

Gardevoir then aimed her finger back at Lance. Cynthia said, “Umm…Lance is a Pokémon trainer?”

Gardevoir gave her cry and smiled.

Cynthia said again, “Oh! Pokémon trainer!”

Gardevoir then pointed at herself. Lance put the next piece of the puzzle together, “Do you already have a trainer?”

Gardevoir nodded.

“Okay,” Cynthia thought aloud, “If you already have a trainer, then why do you want another one? What’s wrong with the trainer you have now? Are they mistreating you or something?”

Lance furrowed his brows. The man cared about **all** Pokémon; whether they were dragons or not, no Pokémon deserved to be mistreated. He clenched his fists; the fabric from his shorts crinkling between his fingers.

Instead of answering Cynthia’s question about abuse, Gardevoir discovered a picture of a forest on the wall. It was a forest that was north of the Sinnoh region.

Cynthia’s little sister questioned, “Did you come from that forest? Did Lance find you in there?”

Gardevoir shook her head. Lance answered for Gardevoir, “I found her in the Northeast region of Johto forest – oh! Johto forest is where you’re from. Is your trainer there?”

Gardevoir bobbed her head. Since the Gardevoir was showing so much affection towards Lance, he asked, “I’m guessing your trainer is a man?”

Gardevoir smiled. Well, that narrowed things down as to why she chose to torture him.

Cynthia then questioned, “Does Lance look like your trainer?”

Gardevoir stopped. She thought for a moment and examined the man in front of her from head to toe. How was she going to explain this next part?

The Gardevoir then tried to impersonate a Dragonite soaring through the air. She pointed back at Lance before displaying the picture of the forest again. Lance knew what she was getting at. “Do you…want to show me something in Johto forest?”

Gardevoir nodded before waltzing over to Lance, and grabbing both of his hands. She smiled and purred. With a slight blush, Lance took a quick glance at Cynthia before turning back to his fairy Pokémon, saying, “Well, if you really need to show something to me, then I guess we can leave now.”

“Now?” Cynthia said, surprised, “but you haven’t eaten anything since your arrival.”

Lance waved her off. “Cynthia, I don’t want this Pokémon using Attract on me anymore. Also, if she had mistaken me for her actual trainer, then we better take her back. For all we know, he could be out looking for her now.”

“Hmm…” Cynthia said, “…I don’t know…she was constantly putting you under a spell so that you could love her. She wouldn’t do that if her trainer paid any attention to her. Do you think he abandoned her?”

Lance sighed; he was still exhausted. To be honest, due to the Attract spell that had been used on him so many times, he just wanted to crawl into bed; but this was a major problem, and he needed it sorted out asap. “I guess we won’t know until we get there.”

Lance then got up and faced the Gardevoir who was taller than him by at least two inches. They locked eyes. He said straight forward and with authority, “Okay, Gardevoir. We’ll go, but on one condition.”

“?”

“You will not use Attract, or any other Pokémon move on me again. Do you understand?” Lance was a dragon trainer, meaning that he had to be a hard ass on his Pokémon to get them to do what he wanted; but, when he saw that the Gardevoir smiled and agreed on his terms and conditions, Lance softened. He had to remember that Gardevoir was vastly different from a Garchomp; and this one was obviously more sensitive to human emotions. It was also obvious that this Gardevoir just wanted to be loved for whatever reason.

Then, without warning, the Gardevoir grabbed Lance by the waist and embraced him. She squeezed, and was unwilling to let go. “NGN! Ow,” Lance said as he felt his back crack. This Gardevoir was smart. He said that she wasn’t allowed to use a move, but he didn’t say that she couldn’t hug him to death.

Cynthia and her little sister stood there laughing at him again. He was genuinely uncomfortable with the whole thing, and it was hilarious. When the Gardevoir finally let him go, Lance said with a small smile, “Alright Gardevoir, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, we’re going to be flying to Johto forest on Dragonite, so I’ll be putting you in your Pokéball. You can’t come out until I tell you, alright?”

The Gardevoir agreed, and without hesitation, Lance recalled the fairy type. After, he turned to Cynthia and sighed, “The laundry should be done now. I’m going to change and then we’ll head out. You should too.”

When Cynthia and Lance were changed into their famous attire, they hopped onto Dragonite’s back and were on their way to Johto. Their destination was Johto forest, where Lance started this whole mess after dropping his Pokégear.

* * *

They left at nine at night and wouldn’t be arriving in Johto forest until four in the morning. Cynthia could see that Lance was ready to collapse at any moment. Cynthia asked, “Lance, are you okay? You’re falling asleep.”

Lance’s eyes shot open. He said, “I’m fine.”

Cynthia suggested. “Let’s stop, so you can get some rest.”

They stopped in a nearby forest to get some shut eye. After making a fire, and gathering some food to fill their stomachs, Cynthia told Lance that she’d keep watch while he slept. As usual, his way of sleeping in the wild was leaning against his drowsy Dragonite, whose tail would curl around him to keep him warm and safe; he would also use his cape as a blanket. As he slept, Cynthia placed a kiss on his forehead before wandering around to grab some more wood for the fire.

* * *

Back in the air again, it was now seven in the morning, and they’d just passed Azalea Town, and were now on their way to the Northeast side of Johto forest. Lance had retraced his footsteps to the very beginning, and currently, it was up to Gardevoir to lead them the rest of the way; hopefully she wouldn’t get them all lost.

Back on solid ground, Lance retrieved his Dragonite and immediately sent out Gardevoir. Both Cynthia and Lance could tell that she was happy to be out of the confines of her Pokéball. Like some Pokémon, she was probably one who despised being in a Pokéball and would rather walk with their trainer everywhere.

Before Lance could command anything, he was swallowed by another excruciatingly painful hug from Gardevoir. Cynthia had to talk for him, because the air was being sucked out of his lungs, “Gardevoir, please lead the way. What do you want to show us?”

Gardevoir let go of Lance, allowing him to fall on his back when she remembered what the original mission was. After looking into the deep depths of the forest, the fairy type peeled her current trainer off the ground and dragged him through the treacherous bush. There was no main path on this side. Cynthia was surprised that Lance was still wearing his cape.

Eventually, they reached an area with some open space; a place where Lance couldn’t recall from the last time he was in the forest. There was a small flowing river that circled a decently sized cave. The depth of the cave didn’t go very far, but at least it would shelter the Pokémon from any rain or snow.

The Gardevoir let go of Lance’s hand and went straight for the cave. A couple of minutes later, she returned with a box that was ripped and looked like it was out in the rain for too long. The fairy type then found some nearby logs and placed the box on top. She then went back to Lance, grabbed his hand again and forced him to come sit with her on the log. Cynthia followed.

Excited, the Gardevoir pulled what looked like an old photo out of the box. She showed it to Lance and he and Cynthia examined it carefully. It was a picture of a young man – no older than sixteen – and the Gardevoir. They were smiling and the younger man was making a peace sign. Although the boy in the picture was much younger than Lance, the humans could clearly see that there was a physical resemblance.

Lance understood. “So…you do have a trainer…”

The Gardevoir nodded.

Lance didn’t say anything after that. He just stared at the photo that was a tad crinkled and had some mud on it.

Cynthia said to Gardevoir, “Aww, you and your trainer look so cute together.”

The Gardevoir agreed by smiling and sounding her cry.

“Where is your trainer?” Lance questioned.

Gardevoir grabbed the next item out of the box; it was a backpack that was very old and covered in mud. She opened it and inside were shoes, toys, candy wrappers and a red and white hat. She then shoved the backpack in Lance’s arms and forced him to look at it. He could see how dirty everything was, and that grass and twigs had cemented themselves on there too. When he was done probing, Cynthia watched as his stoic expression turned solemn. He said gently, “Gardevoir…did your trainer abandon you here in this forest?”

Lance needed to know, and Cynthia understood why. The dragon trainer despised people who ditched their Pokémon without putting their Pokémon’s feelings into consideration. Sure, he didn’t want the Gardevoir, but in his situation, he was trying to figure out a way to fulfill his needs by putting the fairy type’s needs first. She was still attached to her trainer, so he needed to find someone else who could give her that same attention. It was odd though. If abandoning the Gardevoir was the case, it would make sense why the Gardevoir needed to feel loved; however, her trainer had left his belongings behind. Who does that? Who leaves a Pokémon alone and leaves their stuff to make the already heartbroken Pokémon miss them even more, and refrain from moving on?

The Gardevoir then surprised both Lance and Cynthia by shaking her head. Cynthia said, “So…your trainer didn’t abandon you?” Then why…”

Gardevoir moved on by reaching into the box and pulling out a long case covered in red velvet. She gave it to Lance and he quickly opened it; the case revealed seven gym badges that originated from the Johto region. It looked like he only needed one more badge before he could challenge Victory Road and the Indigo Plateau. Sometimes these things happened. Sometimes, Pokémon trainers come to a realization that being a trainer isn’t what it’s all cracked up to be, and stop their journey; however, it’s still no excuse to leave your Pokémon behind.

Still sitting on the log, Lance turned to Cynthia and showed her the case filled with gym badges. He said, “He’s missing one.”

Cynthia responded, “I can see that, but I’m not familiar with the Johto region. Is there something peculiar with them?”

Lance explained, “A lot of these badges are from five to ten years ago. For example, if we look at Blackthorn’s gym badge, this was the design we had for over twenty years. They changed the look when I turned fifteen; I’m almost twenty-eight now. I could be wrong, but I can only guess that Gardevoir has been living in this forest for at least ten years.”

Cynthia said quietly, “That’s a long time to be stuck out here alone.”

Lance responded, “I know, but it still doesn’t make sense as to why she has all of his stuff. Seriously, why would he give it to her; especially his gym badges? There’s something we’re missing.”

“Hmm…” Cynthia thought. She then said, “I know. Maybe he was from Azalea Town. Maybe we can gather some information there, and find this guy. Take the picture with us.”

Lance agreed. He stood up and went to Cynthia’s side. He then turned to his Pokémon and said, “Gardevoir?”

His abrupt voice caught her attention. 

“We’re going to Azalea town to get some food and Pokémon treats for you. We’ll be gone for at least two hours. I know how much you hate being in your Pokéball, so would you like to stay here until we come back? I know you’re most comfortable here.”

Gardevoir quickly floated to him. She snatched his cape and started dragging him back to the log.

Lance forced the Gardevoir to release his cape. He assured her quickly, so he didn’t have to deal with another Attract, “I’m not going to abandon you. I promise that I’ll be back here in two hours. You just have to trust me.”

Gardevoir nodded. She watched Cynthia and Lance fly away on his Dragonite to Azalea Town with the photo and box of old, near complete gym badges. In town, Lance made a quick copy of the photo. He gave it to Cynthia, and said, “Here. Go to everyone in town and ask if they know this young man. We’ll meet in front of the Pokémon centre in half an hour?”

Cynthia nodded. “Definitely.” Cynthia ran and Lance went into a brisk walk. As stated, they both went to every citizen in town to see if they had any knowledge about the boy in the picture. They received a lot of no’s, but apparently Cynthia had gotten some knowledge from an old school teacher shopping at the Pokémart.

Cynthia ran to the Pokémon Centre. Lance was already there, standing poise and tapping his foot. How long had he been waiting there for? He then saw Cynthia approaching, and said:

“What took you so long?”

“I got some information.”

“R-really?” He said, surprised, “I thought we’d get nothing out of this town.”

Cynthia informed, “An old woman at the Pokémart told me that he’s from the next town over; which is near where you first found Gardevoir. It’s a very small town, easy to navigate and everyone knows each other.”

“That’s great!”

* * *

They arrived at a very small town that reminded Lance of New Bark. After dismounting Dragonite, Lance and Cynthia followed the address given to them and found the apparent home of the young man. Cynthia took the initiative and knocked on the door several times. Finally, the door opened and a middle-aged woman peered through a crack in the door.

“Who’re you,” spat the woman, “I’ve never seen you two in town before. What do you want? Are you solicitors.”

Cynthia was good as sweet-talking. She did it to Lance on a daily basis. “My name is Cynthia and this is Lance. We’re here to ask you a couple of questions.”

With the door still slightly open, the woman sneered, “I don’t have time for this. Go ask questions somewhere else.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, but this is important.” Cynthia then held out the photo. To get a better look at the photo, the door fully opened and a red-haired woman – much like the boy in the picture – zoomed in, and squinted at the photo. She gasped after looking at it in greater detail. “Where did you get that picture?”

Cynthia replied, “I know you said that you don’t have much time, but I can explain the situation quickly. It’s really important.”

When everyone was settled with a cup of tea in hand, the older woman started at Cynthia, “So, you’re the Champion of Sinnoh, huh?” She then turned to Lance, “And you’re the Champion of Johto. It’s a privilege to have such great leaders under my own roof. What business do you have here?”

“The photo,” Cynthia said, “judging from how you reacted outside, I can assume you know who that person is? We were told by someone in Azalea town that he lived here at this very house.”

The woman looked at the photo again. She said with sad eyes, “T-this is my brother.”

Cynthia said, “Your brother? T-that means…”

The woman interjected, “Yes, it was when he was young. He was seventeen in this picture. I remember my mother taking it. In his room, he had this same picture trapped in a frame. I wonder why a copy was made?” She weakly smiled as she reminisced, “It was taken fifteen years ago.”

Lance asked, “Does he still live here in town?”

The woman slowly shook her head. With those same sad eyes, she answered, “Unfortunately, he passed away.”

The two Champion’s eyes widened. Cynthia said, “When did this happen?”

The woman raised the photo. She shrugged, “I believe a year after this photo was taken.”

Lance raised a brow. “Fourteen years?” He shook his head. He couldn’t believe the numbers. “I’m truly sorry for your loss. If its not too sensitive of a question, would I be able to know how he passed? I can explain my reasoning for asking after.”

Cynthia added, “You don’t have to go into detail.”

The woman looked out of the window. It was cloudy outside, and it was beginning to rain. She said, “My brother…loved the outdoors. He loved to journey into Johto forest, get his Pokémon some experience and possibly catch more for himself before he’d go out on another journey. He took his journey slow for personal reasons, but eventually got to a point where he could become a professional trainer. He’d come home often – stay for about a week – before leaving again.” A brief pause. “As you can see in this photo, his most trusted Pokémon was that Gardevoir. They did everything together. They would train, eat and play together as often as they could. His Pokémon was also a good helper around the house, and with her Psychic powers, she could collect dust in the unruliest of places. He treated her like a queen, and they were the best of friends.”

Lance and Cynthia sat there on the couch, shocked. They were still taken aback by the news about how long that Gardevoir had been deprived of her trainer for.

The woman continued, “Twice a year, this town gets a heavy rainfall. The forest gets unnaturally wet in the areas with more hills. One day, my brother went into the forest after one of the heaviest downpours this town had ever seen. A change in climate meant different Pokémon, so he thought it would be a good idea to go out in the forest with his Gardevoir, although my father was against it. Then, soon after he left, it happened. There was a landslide, and unfortunately, he was swept away. He hit a tree in the process, and snapped his neck; the autopsy said that he died instantly, but only the Gardevoir would truly know. When they found his body later, most of his stuff was taken, and that included his Gardevoir; who was the only Pokémon that he took with him that day. Everyone in town looked for her, but she was never seen again. They never found a body, but they hypothesized that she either died, or hid herself in the forest for eternity. To be honest, I miss her as much as I miss my brother.”

There was a brief pause. Then, Lance chimed, “If I told you we found his Gardevoir, would you believe me?”

“What,” the woman gasped, “How would you know? There are plenty of Gardevoir in the area.”

Lance answered, “Because she showed me all of his stuff. Actually, let me give you a little bit of context first. A few days ago, I accidentally dropped something in Johto forest. I found what I was looking for, but I also found a Gardevoir along the way. She was a little too friendly with me, and forced me to catch her. Since then, she’s been constantly wanting attention; however, when I don’t give it to her, she forces me to with the move Attract. I need to know why she insists on being so affectionate towards me, but judging by this picture, I can now see that part of it has to do with how I look. It’s not much, but I can see a slight resemblance. Before I got cheekbones, I used to have that same babyish look at seventeen.”

The older woman glanced at the picture again before looking back at Lance. “Now that you mention it, you do look like him a little bit.” The woman took a sip of her tea. “If that truly is the Gardevoir, then maybe she’s attached to you for that reason; however, she is a smart cookie and knows that you aren’t him, so she’s been using Attract to possibly bring back the past. Hmm…his Gardevoir was with him the day he died. They were probably playing and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had watched him die.”

Cynthia and Lance looked at one another with sad eyes. As long-time trainers, they saw Pokémon die on several occasions; it was brutal enough, but for a Pokémon to watch their trainer die before their very eyes and wonder why on earth they weren’t getting up was terribly tragic and a hard pill to swallow. It’s something that neither of them wanted their Pokémon to ever go through.

Three years ago, a Dragonair died on Lance’s lap due to sickness, and not too long ago, one of Cynthia’s weaker Pokémon had been critically injured, and unfortunately succumbed to its injuries; but they both found a way to move on and protect themselves. However, a Pokémon without its trainer would be vulnerable and wouldn’t know what to do next or how to move on with their lives, because the very person that would tell them what to do was gone.

Then, Lance decided it was time. He started, “Like I said in the beginning, the Gardevoir showed me your brother’s belongings. If you don’t believe me, she gave me this,” he then showed the woman the old case full of gym badges, and immediately, the woman’s breath was taken away. She grabbed the case and opened it, seeing the familiar badges and his name engraved on the inside. She whispered, “Just one more badge and he could have been walking down Victory Road.”

Lance then said, “Ma’am, I’m a dragon trainer and unfortunately, Gardevoir wouldn’t be a good addition to my team; however, I refuse to abandon her, so I need her to bond with someone else before she attaches herself to me more than what she already has. You seem familiar with the Pokémon, and you just said that you miss her as much as your brother; so, if we brought the Gardevoir back to town, would you be willing to keep her? She already has her own Pokéball.”

Cynthia added, “She knows you. It would make her very happy.”

The woman looked back at the badges. The Gardevoir, and this case of gym badges were precious; they were the only memories she had left of her family. After careful thought, she said with a determined look, “Yes, if you bring her back to my place, I’ll be sure to take care of her.”

Lance smiled. “Thank you.”

* * *

Cynthia and Lance decided to go to the Pokémart in town first to get the fairy Pokémon some treats. As Cynthia looked through the endless shelves of Pokémon food, she commented, “I feel so bad for Gardevoir. Both of us have seen our fair share of death in the Pokémon world, but I could never imagine the pain that Gardevoir went through when she saw her trainer dead against a tree.”

Lance looked at his watch; they’d been out of Johto forest for a little over two hours. They should really get going before the Gardevoir would get upset and think that they abandoned it. If that were the case, she’d use Attract on him again, and just the thought that happening made him queasy. Cynthia said something else to him, but he wasn’t paying any attention.

“Lance?” She poked his side.

“Hmm?”

“I think one of these will be perfect for Gardevoir. Pick one.” She then showed Lance the bags of treats; one had a blue stripe and the other had a pink stripe. He didn’t feel like reading what it said.

“I don’t know,” was his response.

Cynthia frowned. She said, “Whether you like it or not, she is currently your Pokémon.”

Lance grumbled. “Must you remind me?” He then swiped the bag with the pink stripe out of Cynthia’s hands; it would be more aesthetically pleasing for a female. Then, he stopped, looked at the package again, and thought, _“Yeah, Pokémon treats…they can cure hunger, but never a broken heart.”_

Cynthia, seeing Lance’s mellow expression, asked, “Are you okay?”

Lance replied, “I can’t believe she kept all of his stuff. Why?”

Cynthia placed her hands on her hips. “Memories.” She then turned around. “Alright, let’ go pay and we’ll get ourselves something to eat. We’ll do takeout and meet up with Gardevoir in the forest so she doesn’t get too worried…”

She kept going with her speech, but her words were all flying over Lance’s head. All he could do was stare at the treat bag as they waited in line, still trying to understand what the Pokémon he left in the forest is feeling right now.

A Landslide…a dead body lying against a tree…a Pokémon weeping for its trainer…

Fourteen years…

…and not an ounce of love.

Cynthia looked outside. It was pouring now. “It’s a good thing that woman gave us an umbrella.”

Lance didn’t answer.

“Lance?”

Suddenly, a large rumble occurred. They could feel the ground shake beneath them, and see the windows in the store on the verge of shattering. “An earthquake?” Cynthia asked in surprise.

Lance had dropped the treats and was holding onto the nearest shelf to keep himself upright. “I don’t know.” The lights flickered. They then all heard what sounded like water crashing and rocks flying. What was going on?

When everything had calmed down, someone yelled, “What the hell was that?”

Then, on que, a person from outside quickly entered the Pokémart and shouted, “A landslide!”

Someone else piped up, “Was there anyone in that forest?”

Upon hearing the word ‘landslide,’ Cynthia and Lance made a run for it without the umbrella. Amidst the thick rain, they could see the damage done in Johto forest from afar. It was in the location where they had left the Gardevoir.

“Oh, no,” Cynthia whispered.

Before Cynthia could finish that comment, Lance had already thrown his Pokéball and sent out Dragonite. When Lance and Cynthia hopped on, the dragon trainer told his Pokémon, “Dragonite, let’s go retrieve Gardevoir.” With a mighty roar, they took to the skies and raced back to the forest.

* * *

While leaving, Cynthia could hear voices saying, “Are you two crazy? The ground isn’t stable! It’s still raining!” But they didn’t listen. In less than a minute, they were circling the damaged area. Most of it was destroyed by mud, rock and water; even the trees were broken to bits. No one – not even a Pokémon – could survive what they saw. Eventually, Lance caught sight of where they last left Gardevoir; the area was completely flooded, and destroyed.

Both Cynthia and Lance felt sick to their stomach. If the Gardevoir wasn’t dead on impact, it was surely dead from drowning, but they had no way of knowing until they found a body. Smooth as peanut butter, Dragonite dropped the couple off on a piece of dry land; a few meters from the small area that was affected by mass destruction. Lance then said to his Dragonite, “Circle around the forest. See if you can find Gardevoir from the air, okay?” The Dragonite nodded before shooting itself back up into the sky and circling below the clouds like a hungry Swellow.

Before moving any further, Lance and Cynthia took a long look at their surroundings. As stated before, water was everywhere and it looked like it carried on for miles. Eventually, Lance set his eyes on where Gardevoir’s cave was; it was completely submerged.

Cynthia took the initiative and shouted, “Gardevoir! Gardevoir!”

Lance followed suite, “Gardevoir!”

There was no choice, they had to do a search and rescue. Lance took one last look at the environment. The area was completely flooded; rock, mud and large pieces of tree debris littered the surface of the water. There was no dry land. Without being cautious, Lance took off his cape and jumped into the water.”

“Lance!” Cynthia shouted, “What’re you doing? You fucking idiot!”

Lance didn’t realize how deep the water actually was; his feet weren’t touching any solid ground. He had no choice; he had to swim and tread water. He went to where the cave was, and dove under the murky water, hoping that he wouldn’t find Gardevoir there. Cynthia watched in suspense as she saw Lance disappear for a solid minute. She hoped that he didn’t get caught on something, and couldn’t swim back up to the surface. Scared for Lance, Cynthia took off her coat and jumped in after him. She too raced to the cave, but before she could dive under, Lance came back up with nothing. He tried getting his wet hair away from his eyes, but the pounding rain wouldn’t let him. It was hard to see now.

“Is she there?”

Lance shook his head. “No.”

Swimming in the water and mud, Lance and Cynthia continued to call the Gardevoir, but there was no answer. Eventually, they found shallower water, and decided to take a quick breather there. They looked at each other’s clothes and saw how wet they now were. Lance’s Johto attire was thick with mud after looking through that cave; he was hardly recognizable. Whilst catching their breath, Lance said to Cynthia, “Let’s keep looking.” They then focused their attention downhill and saw the massive destruction below; the landslide could have easily swept Gardevoir away to the bottom.

Since a good chunk of the earth was stripped and washed away, the hill was a lot steeper and submerged with approximately two feet of solid rock and muck. “Gardevoir,” they continued yelling, “Gardevoir!” After shouting the fairy Pokémon’s name, the humans stopped and listened for any cries or observe any sudden movements, but all they could hear and see was a Noctowl.

Lance was the first to panic. Many Pokémon have died under his watch, but they were due to natural causes and sickness. He never lost a Pokémon to a natural disaster. Is this how Gardevoir felt as her trainer got caught in a landslide of his own?

Cynthia, sensing Lance’s panic, said, “Lance, let’s take a break. You and I can barely see with this rain. Besides, we shouldn’t be out here for too long. Another landslide could occur, and then we’ll be the ones killed.”

“We can’t just sit here, Cynthia,” Lance exclaimed. He could barely hear himself through the rain. “My Pokémon’s life is in danger. I don’t even know if she’s dead or alive! I can’t rest until I know. I don’t **care** if this forest is raining, snowing, or burning to a crisp; I’m finding her.” And with that, the couple continued to descend down the trail of destruction. They were guiding themselves downwards by holding onto tree trunks and branches.

Then Cynthia slipped. As she fell backwards, out of reflex, she grabbed Lance’s collar and brought him down with her. They took a long tumble down the hill, but eventually came to a stop, surprisingly unscathed. They were now sitting in a small pool of mud and water. With hair in his eyes and mud on his face, Lance heard Cynthia moan.

Lance crawled over to Cynthia. He asked, “Are you alright?”

“Yep,” Cynthia responded, getting up on her feet. Just like Lance, she was now dressed in mud from the chest down. “I don’t think anything is messed up.” They then started calling Gardevoir’s name again.

After a solid ten minutes of searching and panic, Cynthia shouted, “LANCE!”

“What?”

“Over there!”

Lance followed Cynthia’s finger. It led to a small patch of land that obtained a few mounds of mud. Water also surrounded the area, and the muck was also cluttered with unorganized stacks of rocks and broken trees. Although hard to hear through the sound of the pounding rain, they could hear the faint cry of a Gardevoir.”

“Gardevoir,” Lance shouted. He was relieved that the Pokémon was still alive. When he carefully descended to the damaged area, he then tripped over a rock and fell face first into water that was a lot deeper than what he expected. After forcing himself to walk through thick, murky water, he said to the mound of mud and rock. “Gardevoir, can you hear me?”

He heard the cry again. It came from the bottom of the mud pile. Quickly, Lance lowered himself to the ground and dug a small hole. Eventually, he found one of Gardevoir’s hands. He assured her, “I’m here Gardevoir! Just stay calm. We’re going to get you out of there!”

Cynthia approached the scene. “Did you find her?” She then looked over his shoulder and observed one of the fairy Pokémon’s hands.

Lance huffed. He could barely talk through the buckets of rain flowing down his face. “Yes.”

“What do you need me to do?”

He pointed at an area in front of Cynthia’s feet. “I figured that’s where her head is. Help me dig there, so we can get her head out and she can breathe.” For two long minutes, they did just that. Eventually, they found her head and neck, and the Pokémon could finally look up and see her rescuers with an expression that clearly said, “I thought you abandoned me.”

Lance said, “We’re going to get you out of here, love, okay? Don’t panic.”

Cynthia dug out Gardevoir’s other hand. She then observed the top of the giant mud pile and saw the damage inflicted there. There were too many fallen trees and rocks on top of it for her and Lance to free her successfully. Cynthia took out a Pokéball and threw it. “Lucario, come out!”

Seeing what Cynthia was doing, Lance looked up into the sky and could see his Dragonite still circling the area. Before placing his fingers in his mouth, Lance tried rubbing the mud off of his hand by using his already tainted jumpsuit as a rag, but it wasn’t working very well. After calling his Pokémon, the Dragonite came swooping down in an elegant fashion. When it landed in the murky water, Lance ordered, “Dragonite, dig her out of there. Quickly!” Without hesitation, the Dragonite did as it was told, and began rapidly digging with its sharp claws.

Cynthia said to her Lucario. “Use psychic, and get those trees and rocks out of the way.”

As their Pokémon heeded their orders, Lance and Cynthia stopped doing their part. Their arms were on fire and Cynthia’s hands were bleeding due to twigs that scratched her palms throughout this stressful journey. As Lance and Cynthia gasped for air, the stuck Gardevoir continued to cry. Painful to listen to, Lance grabbed one of Gardevoir’s hands as a means of comfort while their other Pokémon continued doing their jobs. Lance said to the fairy Pokémon, “It’s okay, Love.” He then sniffled, and spat out rain water collecting in his mouth. “I’m here. We’re all here. I’m not going to leave you, and neither is Cynthia.”

But the Gardevoir continued crying. She was scared, and clearly thought that this was the end. If she couldn’t get out, she feared they would leave her here to die. What happened to her old trainer was what was happening to her now, but slower. Cynthia grabbed the Gardevoir’s other hand and massaged it.

Stressed out of his mind, Lance turned to his Dragonite and shouted, “Move quicker!” The Dragonite was almost done. The Lucario had finished removing the many trees and rocks and was now onto helping Dragonite dig the poor Gardevoir out from the thick mud. After another thirty seconds, Cynthia and Lance caught sight of the Gardevoir’s arms and torso. With one mighty pull on each arm, the two Champions were able to free the fairy Pokémon.

After falling backwards into another glob of deep mud, Lance and Cynthia hurried to Gardevoir’s side. They helped her sit up and catch her breath. While doing so, Lance and Cynthia looked around for wounds and only discovered one on her arm. He then commented to Cynthia, “We’re going to get colds tomorrow. I can just feel one coming on now.”

Cynthia retorted, “I recall you once saying that fairy Pokémon are going to be the death of you. Quit being over dramatic.”

Lance then asked Cynthia, “Is that arm broken or something?”

Cynthia looked a little closer at the wound. “It doesn’t look like her arm is broken or anything, but remember that not all wounds are visible. She could be suffering on the inside and we wouldn’t even know. We need to get her to a Pokémon centre as soon as possible.”

With no time to waste, Lance grabbed his Pokéball and said, “Okay, Gardevoir we’re going to the Pokémon Center now to make you feel better, okay?” When the Gardevoir nodded and was successfully retrieved, Lance turned to Cynthia. “How’re you doing? We had a nasty fall back there.”

Cynthia answered, “Aside from my hands covered in these sores, I am fine; however, I can’t say the same thing about our appearance.” She then returned her own Pokémon, and said, “Good job, Lucario. You saved a life today.”

“Dragonite,” Lance said as the Champions prepared to leave. When mounted, they flew out of Johto forest before any more surprises occurred.

* * *

Cynthia and Lance were sitting in the waiting room at Azalea Town’s Pokémon Centre. Azalea Town had a bigger center with better doctors, so it was no surprise that they decided to take Gardevoir there. Both of the trainer’s hair had dried and molded back into their original shapes, but their clothes were still wet and now covered in mud that dried into a nasty clay. Despite the blood and dirt on their hands and underneath their fingernails, they were holding hands; something that they never did in the public eye. However, due to the circumstances, they didn’t care; they needed to comfort each other.

Lance said to Cynthia, “Are you okay?”

Cynthia snapped out of her rancid thoughts. She said, “S-sorry, I’m just worried. Its been twenty minutes since they took Gardevoir away and there’s been no word. What if she’s…”

Suddenly, a figure stood before them. They looked up and saw the older woman from before. She said, “I assume that you lost my umbrella?”

Cynthia apologized, “I’m sorry ma’am, but there was an emergency.”

“Of course, there was,” she said, irate, “I get word from the people in town saying that two idiots decided to make their way into the forest right after a mudslide. For how terrible it was raining, another one could have occurred and there would’ve been two dead Champions. If it weren’t for someone spotting you leaving to Azalea Town on your Dragonite, we would’ve been on that hill still looking for you.”

There was a brief silence before Lance returned to his stoic nature, and said, “If you’re looking for an apology, you aren’t going to get one. That Gardevoir is currently my Pokémon, and I wasn’t going to leave her there to die.”

“Gardevoir? Do you mean the Gardevoir you were talking about earlier?”

“Yes.”

The woman’s expression then softened, “I’m guessing that she’s here being treated?”

Cynthia nodded. “You guessed right.”

Lance assured, “When she makes it, we’ll give to you straight away.”

The woman then stared at the two trainers with judgemental eyes. She was still livid at them for going into that forest. She said, “I’m going home now. Whether she’s dead or alive, I need to know. Aside from that case of gym badges you gave me, Gardevoir is the only family I have left.”

Two hours later, Nurse Joy went over to the front counter with a single Pokéball. She called, “Lance?” In a hurry, both Cynthia and Lance met up with the nurse, and with a bright smile, she said, “Gardevoir is going to be alright. You got her here just in time.”

Relief washed over them as Lance retrieved his Pokéball. He could finally relax and smile. Just then, the Pokéball opened and Gardevoir appeared with an overly happy expression. Not surprisingly, she wrapped her current trainer in a great big, back breaking embrace. She rubbed her cheek against his, and this time, he didn’t mind it. As long as she was safe and loved, that’s all that mattered. Fairy Pokémon weren’t so bad after all.

* * *

The next day, Gardevoir, the woman, Cynthia, Lance and his Dragonite were all standing on the border of Town right next to Johto forest. After their trip to the Pokémon centre the night before, Cynthia and Lance were offered a shower, a chance to clean their wet and muddy clothes, and a warm bed before they would make their way back to Celestic Town; and without question, they accepted. When they were clean and ready to fly back to their old life, they introduced Gardevoir to the older lady again, and explained to her who she was. Surprisingly, the Gardevoir didn’t mind the idea of staying with her old trainer’s sister. She knew her anyway, so it wasn’t an awkward situation.

Facing Gardevoir, Lance said, “This is goodbye, Gardevoir. Unfortunately, as a dragon trainer, I am unable to keep you, but your previous trainer’s sister is willing to love and take care of you in my absence. You are no longer mine.”

A tad upset, the Gardevoir grabbed Lance’s clothing and tried pulling him towards her. She would’ve grabbed his cape if he hadn’t left it behind in the forest. Instead of smacking her hands away, Lance gently brushed them off of him, and said with a faint smile, “Your new trainer missed you so much after your old trainer’s death. She will give you the love and attention you deserve. Trust me, you’ll be a lot happier staying with her than you would be staying with me. Do you understand?”

Reluctantly, Gardevoir agreed.

Lance continued, “However, letting you go doesn’t mean that I don’t still care about you. Yes, I have a reputation to uphold, but I’m glad that I was able to meet you.” Then, he approached Gardevoir and hugged her on his own accord. She melted in his arms. After their long embrace, he let her go, and he and Cynthia climbed onto Dragonite. Cynthia sent them her goodbyes as they took off and journeyed to Sinnoh.

“That was smooth, Lance,” Cynthia commented, “Don’t cry now. You’re supposed to cry over dragon Pokémon, not fairy type.”

Lance laughed. He then said seriously, “Cynthia, I want you to refrain from telling anyone about this whole Gardevoir thing, okay?”

“Not telling anyone?! Lance, you’re so boring.”

“Like I just said, I have a reputation to uphold. I wish not to be laughed at for the rest of my days.”

“Can I at least tell Clair?”

“No! She’s the worst possible person to tell anything secretive to.”

**THE END**


End file.
